SCOTTSDALE, Ariz — Saquon Barkley expects to be “torn” on Sunday, when the decision to declare for the NFL draft or return to Penn State stares at him squarely, bluntly. He’s aware of that.

Until then, the running back from Whitehall High has listened to the chorus of voices from Penn State lettermen and NFL veterans who offered advice on his future. Enjoy college, they said, because the NFL is just business.

“Say I did make the decision to leave,” Barkley explained this week as Penn State prepared to play Washington in Saturday’s Fiesta Bowl. “Then, at the end of the day, you’re focusing on that more than you’re focusing on your team. At some point in your life, you’re going to want to come back to this moment. I don’t want to do that.”

Barkley, ever the “live-in-the-moment” person, has tried to snapshot every moment of Fiesta Bowl week, from the team’s fancy-digs resort to the ceremonial jersey-swap at Penn State’s final practice Thursday to a kickball game with kids facing life-threatening illnesses. He called that last experience his favorite of the week off the field.

Barkley has grown weary of being asked about his game and his future, which he said detracts from the reason he’s here in the first place. “It shouldn’t be focused on my decision,” he said. “It should be focused on how Penn State matches up against Washington.”

Nevertheless, Barkley fielded a procession of questions regarding what he will do after the game, and he handled them with poise and insight.

Coach James Franklin hoped Barkley could avoid the stay-or-go conversation while at the Fiesta Bowl this week. Instead, the running back offered some of his best insight yet into how carefully he has thought out the entire process.

“It’s hard. I’m a 20-year-old kid, and it’s my dream to play in the NFL,” Barkley said. “I do think about it. Sometimes I can’t sleep at night thinking about it. But you have to fight it. You have to try as hard as you can to just cherish the moment you have with your team.”

For Barkley, playing in the Fiesta Bowl never was up for debate. He said he’s healthy and eager to cap the season with a bowl victory, which he hasn’t done in his Penn State career.

But one intriguing question regarding the Fiesta Bowl concerns just how much Barkley might play. Will Penn State’s coaches limit Barkley’s playing time as a precautionary measure to prevent injury, or will they treat this game as any other?

They certainly wouldn’t tip their game plan, and neither would Barkley, though he did say that he’ll accept as many (or as few) carries as the offense gives him.

“At the end of the day I’m a player,” Barkley said, “and the coaches control the rotations. If they want Miles [Sanders] or other backs to get a little more play this week to loosen up and get a little bit better look at the future while also letting me play, then that’s what I’m going to have to settle for.

“Whatever they feel is going to be the best way for us to win this game, I’m willing to do. I’m going to make that sacrifice.”

Though he always intended to play in the Fiesta Bowl, Barkley also said he understands and respects those college players who choose to skip bowl games ahead of the NFL draft. Earlier this week UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen, who did not play in the Cactus Bowl because of injury issues, said players who don’t participate in bowl games for NFL draft reasons should not be criticized for their decisions.

Simply put, Rosen said, some players (even those on scholarship) can’t afford to attend school for another year. Barkley agreed fully.

“How could you fault a player for not playing in a bowl game?” Barkley said. “Is it a selfish decision? I guess you could say that. But sometimes in life you have to make a selfish decision. Sometimes in life you have to do what’s best for you.

“If you have a chance to change your family’s life and bring generational wealth, if you handle your money right, for the rest of your life? And live out your dream? A lot of these guys have done so much for their program and their university and gave it their all. How could you bash a player for wanting to do what’s best for himself and his family?”

After the Fiesta Bowl, Barkley said, the best word to describe his decision will be “torn.” He carries true conflict about the decision. Until then, though, he’s walling himself off from that conflict, calling it “nonexistent.” Teammates appreciate that.

Quarterback Trace McSorley has spent three years with Barkley at Penn State, including the past two in the starting lineup. He has handed the ball to Barkley and watched him make runs that will live in Penn State history.

But that’s not what McSorley will remember most. Yes, the quarterback said, Barkley is a “once-in-a-generation talent.” There’s so much more, though.

“I’ll be able to tell my kids one day, ‘You’re watching the highlights of Saquon Barkley at Penn State and being amazed by him,’” McSorley said. “But you don't know he was one of the best guys I’ve ever been around in my life.”